A little look at my home made studio lights and the set up I used for my Grandson's Senior photos. All fluorescent bulbs in the 100 watt 6500k Daylight range except for the blue accent bulb. Note to self...get higher wattage for the accent next time....85 watts is not enough.

the blue background looks good, maybe a tad to "saturated" if you know what I mean (but thats me... am not the "bright colors" guy when it comes to such photos anyway).

Background lighting looks ok, maybe too centered (upper accent lamp and the lower one almost on one vertical line), but chances are that you went for that effect.

I am not very experienced with setups without flashes, looks like you use normal lamps only... hm. Someone else should comment on that. I know setups that flash into umbrellas and have way bigger (and darker!) softboxes where you've got your two lamps.

I am a bit worried, that there will be too much light - in the means, that the front lamps will illuminate the background, too. I would pay attention, that the front light setup wasn't completely symmetric. Fully symmetric results in well lit images, but I like non-symmetic better

What I really miss, is another lamp in the backgrund. Doesn't have to be very strong, works like an accent lamp, but illuminates the back/side of the person. Can help to reduce unwanted shadows, help with hair details and so on. Think of it as a weak form of backlight. Doesn't come exactly from behind, more in a 45° angle or so.

Good luck mate, I am not much of a help here I guess. /crossing fingers

the blue background looks good, maybe a tad to "saturated" if you know what I mean (but thats me... am not the "bright colors" guy when it comes to such photos anyway).

Background lighting looks ok, maybe too centered (upper accent lamp and the lower one almost on one vertical line), but chances are that you went for that effect.

I am not very experienced with setups without flashes, looks like you use normal lamps only... hm. Someone else should comment on that. I know setups that flash into umbrellas and have way bigger (and darker!) softboxes where you've got your two lamps.

I am a bit worried, that there will be too much light - in the means, that the front lamps will illuminate the background, too. I would pay attention, that the front light setup wasn't completely symmetric. Fully symmetric results in well lit images, but I like non-symmetic better

What I really miss, is another lamp in the backgrund. Doesn't have to be very strong, works like an accent lamp, but illuminates the back/side of the person. Can help to reduce unwanted shadows, help with hair details and so on. Think of it as a weak form of backlight. Doesn't come exactly from behind, more in a 45° angle or so.

Good luck mate, I am not much of a help here I guess. /crossing fingers

Th.

You noted the 2 things this needed TH. Thae background did give some shadow and the hair was not illuminated enough. Had decent ambient light and the two studio light were not pointed directly at the subject but rather in passing in front. Worked fairly well but would have liked two more of the studio lights to light up the background and hair. Finally at near the end moved the top light and the bottom accent light to the sides and directly behind the subject. These worked fairly well for giving some seperation of subject and background. I have read enough to know where I'm going but have never made this trip...Has been a fun experience and a learning fest as well. FYI...I used a Vivitar 285 Zoom Thyristor Flash with a diffuser attached. The lens was a Vivitar 105 f/2.5 series one lens. K10D camera. Shot all in raw+ jpeg.
Dawg

Hey Dawg,
I sure would be interested in seeing some close ups of those lights and stands!
Looks like you did a great job.
GW:bye:

I'll give you some soone GW. They were thrown together on my lunch breaks at work form scrap. They may be down and dirty but they do work. mainly made from lexan for the sides with porcelain fixture for the bulb and EMT - 1" and 3/4" electrical conduit for the legs and boom.

Hey Dawg,
I sure would be interested in seeing some close ups of those lights and stands!
Looks like you did a great job.
GW:bye:

I'll give you some soone GW. They were thrown together on my lunch breaks at work form scrap. They may be down and dirty but they do work. mainly made from lexan for the sides with porcelain fixture for the bulb and EMT - 1" and 3/4" electrical conduit for the legs and boom.